What This Is All About

Welcome! My name is James Clear and I’m the man behind this movement. You can read more about me here.

As our community has grown and evolved, I’ve thought a lot about what it means to be part of this movement and a member of our group. My one, unwavering goal has always been to amplify the success of a small group of people who share our values. And to that end, I want to unite the people who believe what we believe.

How do you know if you believe what we believe? Just read the manifesto below. This page includes the 10 pillars that drive everything we do. If you like these ideas, then you’re going to love it here.

1. We believe that you can set a higher standard for your life, even if the world around you settles for average.

We believe that you don’t need permission to live a remarkable life or to make the world a better place. You don’t need to be tapped, chosen, appointed, or nominated. You don’t need to be a “high achiever.” You just need to be willing. If you want something better, more exciting, and more meaningful then you can have it.

Members of our community set a stronger standard for their health, their happiness, and their work. We realize that we’re not perfect, but we work hard to get better, to live healthy and happy, and to create work that matters.

2. We believe that it doesn’t matter where you start, only that you get started.

We don’t care about where you are coming from, only where you are going. Overweight, but you want to be healthy? Welcome to the club. In good shape, but you want to become an elite athlete? This is the place for you.

Members of our community share one thing in common: a desire to become better, an eagerness to dive into the thick of life, and to raise the bar in their health, their happiness, and their work. We believe that it’s possible to become better no matter where you start from.

If you wait for perfect conditions, then you’ll never get anything done.

3. We believe that health and happiness is the foundation of living a remarkable life.

We believe that we are here to make the world a better place, and we think that happy and healthy people have a better chance to do that than anyone else. We care for ourselves and go to work on our bodies, so that we can make a difference with the time that we have. We believe that strength is our best defense against illness, injury, and — ultimately — death.

We celebrate and enjoy life as we live it rather than feeling guilty about not being perfect. We don’t put off happiness until we’ve lost 20 pounds, built a million dollar business, or reached some future goal. Instead, we work hard to improve and we laugh and smile and dance while we’re doing it. We believe that you can love your life and want to make it better at the same time.

4. We live in the arena instead of judging from the crowd.

We believe in actively participating in the world around us. We play the game instead of watching it from the stands. We do our best to contribute more happiness and create more value in the world rather than playing the role of the victim and complaining about choices made by someone else.

We are explorers and inventors, athletes and coaches, entrepreneurs and artists.

We are the type of people who try things. We think differently. We experiment with new ideas. We take action.

5. We believe that by becoming better as an individual, you lift the world up as a whole.

When you become happier, the world becomes happier. When your health improves, you have more opportunities to make a difference. When you get better at your work, you create more value for the world.

We believe that when you expect more of yourself, you fulfill your potential. And when you fulfill your potential, you make the world a better place.

6. We believe that there is room for everyone at the top.

We don’t have a fixed pie mentality. We believe in abundance. We work to find ways for everyone to live well and to help as many people as possible. We think the goal should be to lift each person up to a great life instead of devising ways for us all to suffer equally.

We believe in climbing to the top instead of racing to the bottom. We don’t think the answer is faster, cheaper, or easier … but healthier, happier, and better.

7. We believe that with small and consistent change, anything is possible.

We dream big, but we start small. We believe that building better habits, one tiny change at a time, is the secret to improving our health, our happiness, and our work. We design our environment for success and find ways to make good decisions easier and bad decisions harder.

We don’t buy into the marketing hype and promotional fluff. We leave the quick fixes and the 6–pack abs in 6 minutes to someone else. We believe in doing things that are meaningful enough to make a difference and simple enough that you can get them done.

We believe that it is better to light a tiny candle than to complain about the darkness. When we feel overwhelmed, unappreciated, or insignificant, we start small.

8. We believe that successful people start before they feel ready and fight when it gets hard.

We realize that most people dream, but never do. We believe that having the courage to start is more important than succeeding because the people who consistently get started are the ones who end up finishing. We condition ourselves to consistently accomplish things that seem out of reach. We make the previously impossible our new normal.

We understand that everyone deals with uncertainty, vulnerability, and fear. And when you face those demons, you’ll go to battle with the support of our entire community behind you. We believe that an incredible thing happens when driven underdogs unite and support each other: they become world changers.

9. We believe that your impact can only be as big as your willingness to serve.

We believe that anything great that we do starts by working towards a cause that is bigger than ourselves. We use our talents to make the world a better place. We are crusaders with a cause.

We are driven underdogs, unconventional thinkers, and rebels who aren’t afraid to poke and prod and question in the name of making things better. We are walking the slow march towards greatness. Not yet where we want to be, perhaps unproven and often unknown, but battling to become better all the same.

We are leaders, regardless of title. We are creators, regardless of craft. We contribute to society and we believe in pouring our souls into each day and serving the people around us.

10. We believe in each other.

When you join this community, you join it for life. You’re no longer an outsider. You’re a teammate. And we always have our teammate’s back.

We believe that the people you surround yourself with are your greatest asset. Those who have walked through the fire can help you do the same. And that’s exactly what we do. We help each other walk through the fire.

Out in the real world you might be an army of one, the lone underdog. But in this community and on this website you have thousands of teammates who’ve got your back, and a leader who wants nothing more than to see you succeed.

We are a community of people from all walks of life and from every corner of the globe. Our work is different, our circumstances are different, but our values will always guide what we do and how we do it.

We celebrate the life we have and work hard to master The Art of Becoming Better.

If You Believe What We Believe, Then Join Us Now.

Enter your email below and click “Join Us”

My email address is…

You’ll get one email every Monday and Thursday.
No spam guaranteed. Unsubscribe at any time.

Thanks for reading. I can’t wait to hear from you.
— James Clear

p.s. This is the home of a movement. Our movement. We support each other in our quest to become better in our health, our happiness, and our work. No one person can succeed on their own.